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Toby Alderweireld Stunner Brings Home Royal Antwerp’s First League Title For 66 Years

Bylfctransferroom

June 6, 2023

Toby Alderweireld promised to return to his hometown club, Royal Antwerp, and he couldn’t have finished his first season back in Belgium any better.

Antwerp drew 2-2 at KRC Genk to finish one point ahead of their opponents and Union, who was on course for a first title in 88 years but lost out in a dramatic conclusion to their last match at home to outgoing champions Club Brugge. 

The former Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton defender returned to Antwerp after a season in Qatar with Al-Duhail SC, something he promised to do as his career had taken him away from his home town. 

It was a dramatic conclusion to the season in which Antwerp edged out Genk and Union Saint-Gilloise in a three-way battle.

Mark van Bommel, head coach of Royal Antwerp, didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity after a late equaliser the previous week against fellow title chasers Union SG left the Antwerp supporters sweating on results to go their way on the final day.  

James Dart, an editor at The Guardian Sport (Digital), also tweeted the video but included the cruel twist leading up to the Championship making its way to Antwerp from Brugge, last season’s winners. 

Alderwiereld’s 94th min goal sparked jubilation from the bench to the stands, and even in the Bosuil Stadium, where Antwerp fans had gathered to watch the action, the Belgian international wrote himself into club history. 

“I have no words for this,” an emotional Alderweireld said. 

“Everyone wrote us off, we fought so hard for this. Everyone was against us, but we did it today.

Not only did they break an unwanted 66-year run, but they will also look forward to Champions League football next season, their first encounter in the top European competition since the 1957-58 season. 

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